Circuit board having bypass pad

ABSTRACT

An electronic device having a printed circuit board is provided. In one embodiment, the printed circuit board includes a plurality of external pads to be coupled with an external device and a plurality of bypass pads for testing an electric circuit. The external pads are exposed and at least one of the plurality of bypass pads are not exposed from an outer surface of the PCB. A system using the electronic device and a method of testing an electronic device are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2007-0129057, filed on Dec. 12, 2007 in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

SUMMARY

The present inventive concept provides an electronic device having aprinted circuit board, a system including the electronic device, and amethod of testing the electronic device.

According to some embodiments of the present inventive concept, aprinted circuit board (PCB) includes: a plurality of external pads to becoupled with an external device; and a plurality of bypass pads fortesting an electric circuit. The external pads can be exposed from anouter surface of the PCB and at least one of the plurality of bypasspads may not be exposed from an outer surface of the PCB. The bypasspads may be contained wholly within the PCB. Also, the bypass pads andthe external pads may be disposed adjacent to the same side of the PCB.

In some embodiments, a PCB comprises a core insulator having a firstsurface and a second surface opposite the first surface; bypass pads fortesting an electrical circuit, the bypass pads formed on the firstsurface of the core insulator; external pads to be coupled with anexternal device, the external pads formed on the first surface of thecore insulator; and a solder resist (SR) layer exposing the externalpads and covering at least one of the bypass pads.

In some embodiments, a method for testing an electric circuit includesproviding a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising: a plurality ofexternal pads to be coupled with an external device; and a plurality ofbypass pads for testing an electric circuit, wherein the external padsare exposed and one or more of the bypass pads are not exposed from anouter surface of the PCB; removing a portion of the PCB to expose atleast one of the plurality of bypass pads; and testing the electriccircuit via the at least one of the plurality of bypass pads.

In some embodiments, a method of forming a printed circuit board (PCB),comprises providing a core insulator; forming external pads and bypasspads on a surface of the core insulator; and forming a solder resistlayer on the surface of the core insulator, wherein the solder resistlayer exposes the external pads and covers at least one of the bypasspads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventiveconcept will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplaryembodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a printed circuit board (PCB);

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the PCB shown in FIG. 1 according to afirst embodiment of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of a PCB according to a second embodimentof the present inventive concept;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan and cross-section views of an electronic device,respectively, in accordance with a third embodiment of the presentinventive concept;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan and cross-section views of an electronic device,respectively, in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the presentinventive concept;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an electronic device in accordance with a fifthembodiment of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section view of an electronic device in accordancewith a sixth embodiment of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of an electronic device in accordancewith a seventh embodiment of the present inventive concept;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are plan and cross-section views of an electronicdevice, respectively, in accordance with an eighth embodiment of thepresent inventive concept;

FIGS. 13 and 14 are cross-section views illustrating alternativeembodiments of that shown in FIGS. 11 and 12;

FIGS. 15 through 17 are cross-section views of a bypass pad portion ofthe electronic device shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a plan view illustrating an insulating material layercovering a bypass pad region of a surface of a PCB according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 19 is a cross-section view of a bypass pad portion of theelectronic device shown in FIG. 18;

FIGS. 20A-20C are cross-section views illustrating a method ofmanufacturing a PCB including bypass pads, according to some embodimentsof the present inventive concept;

FIG. 21 is a cross-section view of a PCB having bypass pads with an ACF,according to some embodiments of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a method of testing an electronic deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 23 is a diagram of a system using an electronic device according tosome embodiments of the present inventive concept;

FIG. 24 is a diagram of another system using an electronic deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present inventive concept; and

FIG. 25 shows photographs of a solid state disk (SSD) using anelectronic device according to some embodiments of the present inventiveconcept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, a printed circuit board (PCB)100 includes external pads 115 on an insulating substrate 105 and bypasspads 120 within the insulating substrate 105. The external pads 115 areused to interconnect an external device such as a digital camera,electronic game machines, a cellular phone or a personal computer withsemiconductor chips mounted on the PCB 105 such that signals can becommunicated therebetween. The PCB 100 can be used in multipleapplications including an electronic device such as a solid state disk(SSD) as shown in FIG. 24, a memory card, or a System-in-Package (SIP)semiconductor device, among other things. The electronic device mayinclude two or more types of semiconductor chips, such as a memory chipand a logic chip. To ensure the reliability of the semiconductor chipsafter the chips are packaged and/or the electronic device ismanufactured, a testing process is performed. Also, there are variousother occasions where the testing process is desired, e.g., during thedevelopment of the electronic device.

In order to facilitate testing, it is helpful for the electronic device,e.g., SIP, to include the bypass pads 120, which may also be referred toas test pads, in addition to the external pads 115. The bypass pads 120can be useful especially when electronic devices containing asemiconductor chip, such as memory cards, are very small. The bypasspads 120 may be used to test the memory chips inside the electronicdevices. Consequently, during the normal manufacturing process or whenspecific test steps are triggered, the memory chips may be tested eventhough the controller chip is not working properly.

If the bypass pads 120 are exposed externally from a surface of theinsulating substrate 105 or the PCB 100, an insulating tape may need tobe applied to protect the exposed bypass pads from the externalenvironment. However, in normal use, the insulating tape can be peeledoff or damaged and thereby expose all or a portion of the bypass pads120 to the external environment. When the bypass pads 120 are exposed tothe external environment, shorts between respective ones of the bypasspads 120 and malfunctions of the electronic device can occur.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the PCB shown in FIG. 1 according toone embodiment of the present inventive concept to deal with suchissues.

Referring to FIG. 2, a PCB 100 according to some embodiments of theinventive concept includes an insulating substrate 105 having a firstsurface 107 and a second surface 108 opposite to the first surface 107.The insulating substrate 105 may include a rigid or flexible substrateincluding a single dielectric layer or multiple dielectric layers. ThePCB 100 also includes external pads 115 disposed adjacent the secondsurface 108 and bypass pads 120 disposed between the first surface 107and the second surface 108. In one embodiment, the bypass pads 120 maybe adjacent and closer to the second surface 108 than to the firstsurface 107 as shown. Accordingly, the bypass pads may be containedwholly within the insulating substrate 105. Also, the bypass pads 120and the external pads 115 may be disposed adjacent to the same side ofthe PCB 100 or the insulating substrate 105.

The external pads 115 may be formed on the second surface 108 ordisposed within a recess formed in the insulating substrate 105. As aresult, the external pads 115 may be exposed from the second surface 108to be coupled to an external device such as various electronic devicesincluding a lap top computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) andelectronic game machines.

In one embodiment, the bypass pads 120 may be formed, for example, on asecond surface of a core insulator (not illustrated in FIG. 2 but shownin FIG. 20 as 106) adjacent to the second surface 108 of the PCB 100 orthe insulating substrate 105. The PCB 100 may have a solder resist layer(not illustrated in FIG. 2. but shown in FIG. 20 as element 124) on thecore insulator. The solder resist layer may include openingsrespectively exposing corresponding ones of the bypass pads 120 as willbe explained later with respect to FIG. 20C.

The external pads 115 can be connected to one or more first terminalpads 125 on an upper surface, i.e., the first surface 107 of theinsulating substrate 105 or PCB 100 through one or more first via plugs130. Also, various other electrical connection methods can be used tointerconnect the external pads 115 and the one or more first terminalpads 125.

The bypass pads 120 can also be connected to one or more second terminalpads 135 on the first surface 107 using one or more second via plugs 140and/or wiring patterns 145 (collectively referred to as “circuit pattern150”).

The bypass pads 120 can be sealed from the external environment by, forexample, the insulating substrate 105. The insulating substrate 105 mayinclude a photoresist material. In particular, materials that make upthe PCB 100 may substantially surround the bypass pads 120. The bypasspads 120 may be disposed in a region of the PCB 100 in which allsurfaces of the bypass pads are surrounded by the PCB 100.

Thus, according to some embodiments of the present inventive concept,the bypass pads 120 are protected from the external environment, leadingto increased reliability of the PCB 100 and electronic devices includingthe PCB 100. Even when stress or an external impact is inadvertentlyapplied to the PCB 100 or the electronic devices including the PCB 100,as the bypass pads 120 are disposed within the insulating substrate 105or within the PCB 100, the bypass pads 120 can be securely protected. Itshould be noted that the present inventive concept has application toboth volatile and non-volatile electronic devices. In other words, thesemiconductor chips discussed above can be provided as, for example, aDRAM, a PRAM, an MRAM, a nonvolatile memory, or the like or acombination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view of a PCB according to another embodimentof the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 3, from time to time in the electronic devicemanufacturing process or after manufacturing is complete; it may becomenecessary to test the semiconductor chips on a PCB 100. In this case,the second surface 108 of the insulating substrate 105 can be partiallyremoved such that one or more of the bypass pads 120 are exposed fromthe PCB 100. The exposed bypass pads 120 can then be used to test thesemiconductor chips. The bypass pads 120 can be exposed using severalmethods including dry etching, wet etching, and/or planarization of thesecond surface 108. The planarization may be performed using an etchback process or a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process.

After the testing procedure, the removed portion of the second surface108 can be restored if desired by, for example, depositing a layer ofphotoresist.

The number of bypass pads 120 and the external pads 115 can be decidedbased on the desired application for the PCB 100. As shown, the bypasspads 120 can be arranged in a matrix form.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan and cross-section views of an electronic device,respectively, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, an electronic device 200 includes asemiconductor chip 205 disposed on a first surface 107 of an insulatingsubstrate 105. The electronic device 200 can be a memory card or thelike and the semiconductor chip 205 can be, for example, a memory chipor a logic chip (or a controller chip). The semiconductor chip 205 canbe electrically connected to external pads 115 and/or bypass pads 120.The external pads 115 can be used for transferring signals betweensemiconductor chip 205 and components external to the electronic device200, e.g., an external device such as a digital camera and so on. Bypasspads 120 can be used for routine testing and/or failure analysis of thesemiconductor chip 205.

The semiconductor chip 205 can include one or more sets of chip pads 210and 240. The sets of chip pads 210, 240 can be coupled to first andsecond terminal pads 125, 135, respectively, using connection means suchas bonding wires 215, 245. The ends of the bonding wires 215, 245 can beconnected to the chip pads 210, 240 and the first and second terminalpads 125, 135. The sets of chip pads 210, 240 may be coupled to thefirst and second terminal pads 125, 135 using conductive bumps orconductive through vias.

In one embodiment, one or more passive devices such as a capacitor,resistor or inductor are formed on the first surface of the insulatingsubstrate 105.

In some embodiments, an encapsulant 225 formed of a material such as anepoxy molding compound (EMC) can be formed to cover the semiconductorchip 205. In FIG. 4, the encapsulant 225 is shown as a dotted line. Theencapsulant 225 may also be formed of a ceramic material or theencapsulant 225 may be a casing formed of a material such as metal.

The electronic device 200 can be electrically connected to an externaldevice such as various electronic devices, using external pads 115. Innormal use, the bypass pads 120 can be safely protected within theinsulating substrate 105. However, as discussed above, when there is aneed for testing the electronic device 200 or the semiconductor chip205, the bypass pads 120 can be exposed for testing.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan and cross-section views of an electronic device,respectively, in accordance with one embodiment of the present inventiveconcept. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 include features similarto that described above with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6. Therefore, in theinterest of brevity, redundant description will be omitted.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an electronic device 300 can include amemory chip 305 and a logic chip 335 stacked on a first surface 107 ofan insulating substrate 105. The memory chip 305 can include varioustypes of memory devices such as flash memory, DRAM, SRAM, PRAM (phasechange RAM), and RRAM (resistance RAM). The logic chip 335 can beprovided for controlling the memory chip 305 and the memory chip 305 cantransfer data responsive to commands from the logic chip 335. Theelectronic device 300 can be, for example, an MMC (Multimedia card), anSD (secure digital card), a micro MMC, a micro SD, or the like.

The external pads 115 may be electrically connected to the logic chip335 such that the logic chip 335 can exchange signals with an externaldevice.

One or more passive devices 320 can also be provided on the firstsurface 107 of the insulating substrate 105 of the PCB 100. The passivedevice 320 can be electrically connected to the bypass pads 120 andinclude a capacitor, a resistor, and/or an inductor.

In some embodiments, an encapsulant 325 formed of a material such as anepoxy molding compound (EMC) can be formed to cover the semiconductorchip 205.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an electronic device in accordance with anotherembodiment of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 8, an electronic device 300 a includes a memory chip305 a and a logic chip 335 stacked on an insulating substrate 105 of thePCB 100. Chip pads 310 a of the memory chip 305 a and chip pads 340, 350of the logic chip 335 can be configured in different directions.Specifically, chip pads 310 a of the memory chip 305 a can be disposedin a longitudinal direction while chip pads 340, 350 of the logic chip335 can be disposed in a lateral direction. The chip pads 310 a of thememory chip 305 a can be connected to third terminal pads 135 a, whichcan be coupled with second terminal pads 135. In this way, bonding wires315 a, 345, 355 of each of the logic chip 335 and the memory chip 305 aare disposed in different directions so that electrical shorts betweenthe bonding wires can be avoided.

FIG. 9 is a cross-section view of an electronic device in accordancewith still another embodiment of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 9, an electronic device 300 b includes one or moreadditional memory chips 305 b disposed between a memory chip 305 and alogic chip 335. In this case, the logic chip 335 can control the memorychip 305 and the additional memory chips 305 b. The additional memorychips 305 b can be stacked so as to expose chip pads 310 of the memorychip 305. Accordingly, the chip pads 310 b of the additional memorychips 305 b can be connected to the chip pads 310 of the memory chip 305by connection means such as bonding wires 315 b. The logic chip 335, thememory chip 305, and the additional memory chips 305 b can beelectrically connected to the bypass pads 120 via the second terminalpads 135 and the circuit pattern 150.

FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of an electronic device in accordancewith some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 10, an electronic device 300 c includes one or moreadditional memory chips 305 b disposed between a memory chip 305 and alogic chip 335. Additionally, one or more additional chip pads 310 b ofthe additional memory chips 305 b can be directly connected to thesecond terminal pads 135 by bonding wires 315 c, rather than via thememory chip pads 310.

FIGS. 11 and 12 are plan and cross-section views of an electronicdevice, respectively, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentinventive concept.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, an electronic device 300 d includes amemory chip 305 d and a logic chip 335 d both disposed directly on aninsulating substrate 105, rather than stacked, as in other embodiments.The logic chip 335 d can be configured between first terminal pads 125and second terminal pads 135. Therefore, bonding wires 345, 355 can beformed on opposite sides of the logic chip 335 d. In this way, shortsbetween the bonding wires 345, 355 can be avoided.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are cross-section views illustrating alternativeembodiments of that shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, an electronic device 300 e can include amemory chip 305 d and a logic chip 335 d both disposed directly on aninsulating substrate 105, and an additional memory chip 305 e disposedon the memory chip 305 d. The logic chip 335 d can control both thememory chip 305 d and the additional memory chip 305 e. The additionalmemory chip 305 e can be disposed so as to expose the chip pads 310 ofthe memory chip 305 d. Accordingly, the chip pads 310 e can be connectedto the chip pads 310 of the memory chip 305 d by bonding wires 315 e(see FIG. 14). Alternatively, the chip pads 310 e can be connecteddirectly to the second terminal pads 135 using bonding wires 315 f.Further, the logic chip 335 d, the memory chip 305 d, and the additionalmemory chip 305 e can be electrically connected to the bypass pads 120by the second terminal pads 135.

FIGS. 15 through 17 are cross-section views of a bypass pad portion ofthe electronic device shown in FIG. 13.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, the bypass pads 120 can be protected by aninsulating material layer 160 such that the bypass pads 120 are notexternally exposed. The insulating material layer 160 can be disposeddirectly on the bypass pads 120. The insulating material layer 160 caninclude a material such as an epoxy resin, a via filling material, or ananisotropic conductive film (ACF), as opposed to the solder resistmaterial. When the insulating material layer 160 is formed of an ACF andthere is a need for testing a memory chip in the electronic device, atesting tip can be placed so as to exert pressure on the ACF to cause itto be electrically connected to the bypass pads 120 as will be discussedfurther with respect to FIG. 21. Because there is no need for anadditional process to expose the bypass pads 120, the manufacturingcosts and time can be substantially reduced.

On the other hand, if the bypass pads 120 are formed of copper, theinsulating material layer 160 can be directly formed on a bare surfaceof the copper. Thus, no Ni-gold plating is required as a seed layer. Asa result, the manufacturing costs in terms of material costs and processtime can be reduced.

Also, compared to prior art methods where the insulating tape is usedover the bypass pads, the insulating material layer 160 is less likelyto peel off and expose the bypass pads 120 to the external environment.

The insulating material layer 160 may include a dielectric materialhaving an etch selectivity with respect to the solder resist layeradjacent to the second surface 108 of the PCB 100 next to the insulatingmaterial layer 160. Accordingly, the insulating material layer 160 maybe removed more easily than a photo solder resist (PSR) material bychemical and/or mechanical methods such as etching and polishing. In thecase of PSR, as PSR is a hard material, the etching of PSR requires astrong chemical etchant such as nitric acid or sulfuric acid.Consequently, the strong chemical etchant can etch other insulatingmaterials, resulting in short circuits. By using the insulating materiallayer 160, which is easier to remove, these problems, such as shortcircuits, can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 16, the insulating material layer 160 can be disposedon only a portion of the total number of bypass pads 120, as desired. Inother words, the insulating substrate 105 includes one or more openings159 exposing a portion of the bypass pads 120. The one or more openings159 are filled with the insulating material layer 160 having an etchselectivity with the insulating substrate 105, e.g., a solder resistlayer that forms the insulating substrate 105.

An additional solder resist layer may be formed on the second surface108 of the PCB 100 so as to cover the solder resist layer and theinsulating material layer 160 as in FIG. 17.

Referring further to FIG. 17, the insulating material layer 160 can bedisposed inside of the PCB 100 (i.e., under the second surface 108 ofthe PCB 100) and/or under an additional solder resist layer 123 formedon the second surface 108 of the PCB 100. In this case, to expose thebypass pads 120, mechanical polishing and chemical etching can beapplied sequentially.

FIG. 18 is a plan view illustrating an insulating material layercovering a bypass pad region of a surface of a PCB. FIG. 19 is across-section view of a bypass pad portion of the electronic deviceshown in FIG. 18.

In FIG. 17, the insulating material layer 160 is formed over theindividual bypass pads 120, rather than over the regions between thebypass pads 120. However, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a singleinsulating material layer 160′ can be disposed over the plural bypasspads 120 including the regions between the bypass pads 120. In otherwords, there may be a single opening 161 in a portion of the insulatingsubstrate 105 overlying a plurality of bypass pads 120, not just over anindividual bypass pad 120. And the single insulating material layer 160may be disposed in the single opening 161 to be disposed over theplurality of bypass pads 120. The other portion of the insulatingsubstrate 105 comprises an SR layer in a region where the singleinsulating material layer 160′ is not formed although the SR layer isnot separately illustrated in FIG. 19. The single insulating materiallayer 160′ may be formed of a dielectric material having an etchselectivity with respect to the SR layer. The SR layer may be seen toinclude a single opening 161 to be disposed over the plurality of bypasspads 120. In other words, the SR layer may include the single opening161 exposing a plurality of the bypass pads 120.

In one embodiment, the single insulating material layer 160′ may beformed of a material similar to the insulating material layer 160 of,for example, FIG. 17.

FIGS. 20A-20C are cross-section views illustrating a method ofmanufacturing a PCB including bypass pads, according to some embodimentsof the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 20A, a method of manufacturing a PCB includesproviding a core insulator 106. The core insulator 106 may include, butnot limited to, a BT resin material. Next, a conductive pattern isformed on the core insulator 106. The conductive pattern includes theexternal pads 115 and the bypass pads 120. Forming the conductivepattern may include forming a conductive material layer and thenpatterning the conductive material layer (using a photolithographyprocess, for example) to form the external pads 115 and the bypass pads120.

Referring to FIG. 20B, a dielectric layer 122 is formed oversubstantially an entire surface of the core insulator 106, including theexternal pads 115 and the bypass pads 120. The dielectric layer 122 maybe a solder resist, and more specifically, may be a photo solder resist(PSR).

Referring to FIG. 20C, a portion of the dielectric layer 122 is removedto form a solder resist layer 124. Removal of the portion of thedielectric layer 122 may include a photolithography process. Theexternal pads 115 are exposed by the solder resist layer 124. The bypasspads 120 may not be exposed (or covered) by the solder resist layer 124.Alternatively, some of the bypass pads 120 may be exposed by the solderresist layer 124 and others of the bypass pads 120 may not be exposed orcovered by the solder resist layer 124. Although not shown for the sakeof simplicity, other conventional PCB materials may be formed on thecore insulator 106. For example, another photoresist layer is formed onother side of the core insulator 106 opposite the solder resist layer124.

In one embodiment, the insulating substrate 105 shown throughout thedrawings including FIGS. 15-17 may have a structure similar to thestructure shown in FIG. 20C. In other words, the insulating substrate105 may include a core insulator with the bypass pads 120 formed thereonwhile the solder resist layer covering the bypass pads and the coreinsulator as shown in FIG. 20C, for example. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this particular structure and can be appliedto any other suitable PCB structure within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

Also, some or all of the features discussed with respect to a particulardrawing or an embodiment can be also applied to other embodiments ordrawings.

FIG. 21 is a cross-section view of a PCB having bypass pads with an ACF,according to some embodiments of the present inventive concept discussedabove with respect to FIGS. 15-16.

Referring to FIG. 21, a PCB 101 includes a core insulator 106, externalpads 115, bypass pads 120, and a solder resist layer 124 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The external pads 115 areexposed from the solder resist layer 124. The bypass pads 120 are alsoexposed from the solder resist layer 124, but in this case, ananisotropic conductive film (ACF) 126 covers the bypass pads 120. Usingthe ACF 126, a test probe 2010 can electrically contact the bypass pads120 to test a memory chip.

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a method of testing an electronic deviceaccording to some embodiments of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 22, a method of testing an electronic device includesproviding a PCB at step 2110. The PCB includes a plurality of externalpads to be coupled with an external device and a plurality of bypasspads for testing an electric circuit. The external pads are exposed froman outer surface of the PCB. However, one or more of the bypass pads arenot exposed from an outer surface of the PCB. The method furtherincludes removing a portion of the PCB to expose at least one of theplurality of bypass pads at step 2120. Finally, the method includestesting the electric circuit via the at least one of the plurality ofbypass pads at step 2130.

FIG. 23 is a diagram of a system using an electronic device according toembodiments of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 23, the system 400 includes a socket 420, anelectronic device 410 including a PCB discussed with respect to theabove embodiments, a card interface controller 430 and a host or anexternal device 440. The socket 420 can be provided to allow insertionand contact with the electronic device 410. The electronic device 410can be, for example, a memory card. The socket 420 can be connected toexternal pads 115 (shown in, for example, FIG. 15) of the electronicdevice 410. The card interface controller 430 can control the exchangeof data with the electronic device 410 through the socket 420. The cardinterface controller 430 can also be used to store data in theelectronic device 410. The host 440 controls card interface controller430.

FIG. 24 is a diagram of another system using an electronic deviceaccording to embodiments of the present inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 24, a system 800 may, for example, include a processor810, e.g., central processing unit (CPU) used in a personal computer,game machines, PDA or the like, a electronic device 820 made inaccordance with any one of embodiments described above, an input/outputdevice 830 and a bus 840. The input/output device 830 can beelectrically coupled to the microprocessor 810 and the electronic device820 (e.g., via the bus 840). Although not shown, a controller can beadded to the system 800.

In one embodiment, the system 800 can be provided as part of a mobilephone, an MP3 player, a navigation device, solid state disk (SSD),household appliance, or the like.

FIG. 25 shows photographs of a solid state disk (SSD) using anelectronic device according to embodiments of the present inventiveconcept. In particular, FIG. 25 shows front and back sides of anexternal case of SSD and also front and back sides a PCB to be placed inthe external case. As shown, a controller and a connector are disposedin the front side while flash memories are placed on both sides of thePCB. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limitedto this specific structure and can be employed in other manners withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, theconnector can be placed in other side of the PCB and the location of theconnector can be placed depending on applications.

According to some embodiments of the present inventive concept, aprinted circuit board (PCB) includes: a plurality of external pads to becoupled with an external device; and a plurality of bypass pads fortesting an electric circuit. The external pads can be exposed from anouter surface of the PCB and one or more of the bypass pads may not beexposed from an outer surface of the PCB. The bypass pads may becontained wholly within the PCB. Also, the bypass pads and the externalpads may be disposed adjacent to the same side of the PCB.

According to other embodiments of the present inventive concept, aprinted circuit board (PCB) includes: a core insulator having a topsurface and a bottom surface; bypass pads for testing an electricalcircuit formed on the bottom surface of the core insulator; externalpads to be coupled with an external device formed on the bottom surfaceof the core insulator; and a solder resist (SR) layer exposing theexternal pads and covering at least one of the bypass pads. Materialsthat make up the PCB may substantially surround the bypass pads. Thebypass pads may be disposed in a region of the PCB in which all surfacesof the bypass pads are surrounded by the PCB. The SR layer may includeopenings respectively exposing corresponding ones of the bypass pads.The openings may be filled with a dielectric material having an etchselectivity with respect to the solder resist layer. The openings may befilled with an ACF. The dielectric material may be etched faster thanthe solder resist layer with respect to a predetermined etchant. The SRlayer may have at least one opening exposing a portion of the bypasspads and the at least one opening may be filled with the dielectricmaterial and the other portion of the at least one of the openings maybe covered with the solder resist. Alternatively, the SR layer mayinclude a single opening exposing a plurality of the bypass pads and thesingle opening may be filled with a dielectric material having an etchselectivity with respect to the SR layer, the dielectric materialcovering the plurality of the bypass pads. The PCB may further includeanother solder resist (SR) layer formed to cover the dielectric materialand the SR layer having the openings.

According to still other embodiments of the present inventive concept, adevice includes a PCB and a semiconductor chip overlying the PCB. ThePCB may comprise: a core insulator having a top surface and a bottomsurface; bypass pads for testing an electrical circuit formed on thebottom surface of the core insulator; external pads to be coupled withan external device formed on the bottom surface of the core insulator;and a solder resist exposing the external pads and covering at least oneof the bypass pads. The semiconductor chip may include: a memory chipoverlying the PCB; and a controller chip overlying the PCB. The devicemay be a storage device. The storage device may be an SSD or a memorycard.

According to yet other embodiments of the present inventive concept, asystem includes: a PCB substrate; a solder resist; a semiconductormemory chip; and at least one of a controller and a CPU. The PCBsubstrate includes: a core insulator having a top surface and a bottomsurface; bypass pads for testing an electrical circuit formed on thebottom surface of the core insulator; and external pads to be coupledwith an external device formed on the bottom surface of the coreinsulator. The solder resist exposes the external pads and covers atleast one of the bypass pads.

According to another embodiment of the present inventive concept, amethod includes: providing a printed circuit board (PCB) comprising aplurality of external pads to be coupled with an external device and aplurality of bypass pads for testing an electric circuit; removing aportion of the PCB to expose at least one of the plurality of bypasspads; and testing the electric circuit via the at least one of theplurality of bypass pads. The external pads are exposed and one or moreof the bypass pads are not exposed to an outer surface of the PCB. Theelectric circuit may be a memory.

The PCB may include a solder resist layer and removing the portion ofthe PCB may include removing a portion of the solder resist layer toform at least one opening exposing the at least one of the plurality ofbypass pads and forming an anisotropic conductive film (ACF) in the atleast one opening. Testing the electric circuit may comprise contactinga test probe to the ACF.

According to yet another embodiment of the present inventive concept, amethod of forming a printed circuit board (PCB), includes: providing acore insulator; forming external pads and bypass pads on a surface ofthe core insulator; and forming a solder resist layer on the surface ofthe core insulator. The solder resist layer exposes the external padsand covers at least one of the bypass pads. Forming the external padsand the bypass pads may include: forming a conductive material layer onthe surface of the core insulator; and patterning the conductivematerial layer to form the external pads and the bypass pads. Formingthe solder resist layer may include: forming a dielectric layer on thesurface of the core insulator, the external pads, and the bypass pads;and patterning the dielectric layer to form the solder resist layer.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in some embodiments, or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

Various operations will be described as multiple discrete stepsperformed in a manner that is most helpful in understanding theinvention. However, the order in which the steps are described does notimply that the operations are order-dependent or that the order thatsteps are performed must be the order in which the steps are presented.

While the present inventive concept has been particularly shown anddescribed with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes inform and details may be made therein without departing from the spiritand scope of the present inventive concept as defined by the followingclaims.

1. A printed circuit board (PCB) comprising: a plurality of externalpads to be coupled with an external device; and a plurality of bypasspads for testing an electric circuit, wherein the external pads areexposed and at least one of the plurality of bypass pads are not exposedfrom an outer surface of the PCB.
 2. The PCB of claim 1, wherein thebypass pads are contained wholly within the PCB.
 3. The PCB of claim 1,wherein the bypass pads and the external pads are disposed adjacent to asame side of the PCB.
 4. A printed circuit board (PCB) comprising: acore insulator having a first surface and a second surface opposite thefirst surface; bypass pads for testing an electrical circuit, the bypasspads formed on the first surface of the core insulator; external pads tobe coupled with an external device, the external pads formed on thefirst surface of the core insulator; and a solder resist (SR) layerexposing the external pads and covering at least one of the bypass pads.5. The PCB of claim 4, wherein the SR layer includes openingsrespectively exposing corresponding ones of the bypass pads.
 6. The PCBof claim 5, wherein the openings are filled with an ACF.
 7. The PCB ofclaim 5, wherein the openings are filled with a dielectric materialhaving an etch selectivity with respect to the SR layer.
 8. The PCB ofclaim 7, wherein the dielectric material is etched faster than the SRlayer with respect to a predetermined etchant.
 9. The PCB of claim 7,further comprising another solder resist (SR) layer formed to cover thedielectric material and the SR layer having the openings.
 10. The PCB ofclaim 4, wherein the SR layer includes a single opening exposing aplurality of the bypass pads.
 11. The PCB of claim 10, wherein thesingle opening is filled with an insulating material having an etchselectivity with respect to the SR layer, the insulating materialcovering the plurality of the bypass pads including regions between thebypass pads.
 12. The PCB of claim 4, wherein the bypass pads aredisposed closer to the second surface than to the first surface.
 13. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein materials that make up the PCB substantiallysurround the bypass pads.
 14. The PCB of claim 4, wherein the bypasspads are disposed in a region of the board in which all surfaces of thebypass pads are surrounded by the PCB.
 15. An electronic devicecomprising: an insulating substrate having a first surface and a secondsurface; a plurality of external pads on the first surface of theinsulating substrate to be coupled with an external device; asemiconductor device overlying the second surface of the insulatingsubstrate; and a plurality of bypass pads on the first surface of theinsulating substrate for testing an electric circuit of thesemiconductor device, wherein the external pads are exposed from theinsulating substrate and one or more of the bypass pads are not exposedfrom an outer surface of the insulating substrate.
 16. The PCB of claim15, wherein at least one of the bypass pads are electrically connectedto first terminal pads overlying the second surface of the insulatingsubstrate and the external pads are respectively connected to secondterminal pads overlying the second surface of the insulating substrate.17. The PCB of claim 16, wherein the bypass pads are electricallyconnected to the first terminal pads through a via plug.
 18. The deviceof claim 17, wherein the insulating substrate includes one or moreopenings exposing a portion of the bypass pads and the one or moreopenings are filled with an insulating material layer having an etchselectivity with the insulating substrate.
 19. The device of claim 17,further comprising an encapsulant covering the semiconductor device. 20.The device of claim 17, wherein the encapsulant comprises an epoxymolding compound.
 21. The device of claim 17, wherein the encapsulantcomprises a casing.
 22. The device of claim 17, wherein thesemiconductor device comprises a memory device.
 23. The device of claim17, wherein the insulating substrate includes a single opening exposinga plurality of the bypass pads.
 24. The PCB of claim 23, wherein thesingle opening is filled with an insulating material having an etchselectivity with respect to the SR layer, the insulating materialcovering the plurality of the bypass pads including regions between thebypass pads.
 25. The device of claim 16, wherein chip pads of thesemiconductor chip are electrically connected to the first terminalpads.
 26. A device comprising: a PCB comprising: a core insulator havinga first surface and a second surface; bypass pads for testing anelectrical circuit, the bypass pads formed on the first surface of thecore insulator; external pads to be coupled with an external device, theexternal pads formed on the first surface of the core insulator; and asolder resist exposing the external pads and covering at least one ofthe bypass pads; and a semiconductor chip overlying the PCB.
 27. Thedevice of claim 26, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises: a memorychip overlying the PCB; and a controller chip overlying the PCB.
 28. Thedevice of claim 26, wherein the device is a storage device.
 29. Thedevice of claim 28, wherein the storage device is a solid state disk(SSD) or a memory card.
 30. A system comprising: a PCB; a semiconductormemory chip overlying the PCB, wherein the PCB comprises: a plurality ofexternal pads to be coupled with an external device; and a plurality ofbypass pads for testing an electric circuit of the semiconductor chip,wherein the external pads are exposed and at least one of the pluralityof bypass pads are not exposed from an outer surface of the PCB; and atleast one of a controller and a CPU.
 31. A system comprising: anelectronic device including: a PCB; a semiconductor memory chipoverlying the PCB, wherein the PCB comprises: a plurality of externalpads to be coupled with an external device; and a plurality of bypasspads for testing an electric circuit of the semiconductor chip, whereinthe external pads are exposed and at least one of the plurality ofbypass pads are not exposed from an outer surface of the PCB; and asocket adapted to be coupled to the plurality of external pads; a cardinterface controller adapted to control the electronic device throughthe socket; and a host adapted to control the card interface controller,wherein the socket is adapted to allow insertion and contact with theelectronic device.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the cardinterface controller stores data in the electronic device.